Braii — Lovely Dark Things (2019)

You do remember them and will follow their steps this time as you did follow their guitars last spring. New stories grew into the new compositions, and only the darkness remained the same. Guided by somber riffs, it swamping the vinic-cynic heroes and the girl who wasn’t there into its depths.

After the first EP "City of Nothing", BRAII had been heard. Although it was not much, rather fast and at first – there are particular associations appeared in the listeners’ minds: dim light, calm, lifelike. This "lifelikeness" is especially wanted by the band’s singer and creator Oksana Bryzgalova, because she is not a big fan of making up the story and has no such need, actually. That’s why BRAII apply the same approach in this full-length album "Lovely Dark Things", both lyrically and musically.

The official release of the first BRAII’s longplay took place on the 8th of November and right away their autumn eurotour had started. The album came out from the anvil of "Mnogo Vody", whose third showcase BRAII leaded. Oleksij Kryvosheev is still the sound-producer of the band and this album particularly, needed to say that his duties have expanded since the EP release. After the bassist Inna Rassamakha left the band to play in Boombox, Oleksij, the ex-bassist of Bahroma, offered his partnership to Oksana and kept the band away from decay with it.

The month before promised album release, BRAII share their single "Weirdo" with its videoclip, a little bit later their track "Slipping" appeared with the official video, too. BRAII managed to mount the video over the most slow and lasting "Slipping", which has less tale then the space around. Its beginning – start of the stoner-rock composition, in which the timbrel warns you, like the rattlesnake’s tail, about the danger of a darkness, into the one you dive. Later the singer tells you the reason why umbra can be so alluring. Videos to tracks represent two absolutely polar works each one, of two different periods of activity – the beginning and the blooming, different directors, abilities, moods. After the VHS-scenes cutting in "Weirdo", the objectives of professional cameras, even with the colorist’s attention, are suddenly directed to Oksana and her friend Salvador Ramazzini in "Slipping". The role play starts here, similar to the one which already took place in the video to the song "Complicated" from the first mini album, the protagonists are implicated in the same stuff, although now their relationships are more about game and ardor.

This album opens up with the beautiful guitar duet of Oksana and Andrij Shulakov and shows the more revealing side of the young band’s creativity. From the first track the new place of bass-line to be noticed – Oleksij Kryvosheev leads it out, so now it even claims to take the place of the only instrument, promising to successfully perform. This album’s drums are organically kept in the post-punk rhythmic by Slava Los, by this the drummer governs the common aspiration of each composition to the diversity inside itself.

First EP wasn’t enough for some analogy to be fished, but this album’s release certainly guides to the key – Sonic Youth by the times of "Daydream Nation" is the role model. Especially the second album’s composition "A Queen of Lovely Dark Things" demonstrates it clearly. The low aweary vocal of Oksana Bryzgalova catches up the spirit of Kim Gordon’s performing, who cares about notes or octaves as little, as much Thurston Moore loves to accompany such manner by noises. The only thing to be said, is that BRAII stuff their music with motives, not chaos, thanks to what they are popular among two "hostile camps": mass listener and underground fan.

The end of the album promises something fresh and unlike to whichever previous band’s efforts. The most musical and bright melody of the album – "A Man Behind the Curtain" – sounds in the end. It only holds on to rhythm at first, but later comes up to the real instrumental festivity: there are bar chimes, with brass section, with keyboards serve the background for the unchangeable vocals and those same guitars, sharp-cut in their composure. The last track "Heroes" refutes the myth about "gloomy" BRAII as well as the previous one does. Entirely quiet morning indie-song is like many others from genre, but like nothing from the BRAII themselves.

Such sound change, furthermore, in the end of the long-awaited album, could be considered both as the transformation skill or as the still lasting reference point searching. Nevertheless, the darkness dissolves in front of BRAII, which step on it instrumentally and mentally, do not afraid to call it out and to dive in. And what about the unsung scenes left – there are enough for the new band, which can be already seen by new album’s moods and what is only to be seen in future.

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Braii in social networks:

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